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Author
Topic: Identification of a very large paperweight. (Read 3137 times)

Hello,I recently obtained an auction lot of paperweights and this is the only one I cannot identify. I was told it might be Caithness but I'm not too sure about this. It is very large and came in its original deep square red box with white silk lining.The base is ground with no makers mark at all.Size: 4 inches (10 cms) high and 12 1/2 inches (32 cms) in circumference. Weight: Nearly 3 lbs (1319 grams)Colour and Decoration: It has large bubbles rising up from the bottom and in between these are spikes or explosions of what looks like suspended 'sea-foam' in red and blue.On the base of the box is the following:LP1122Bar Code:5 010792 011226"PARMIR"

See photographs below. I have taken them against a white and black background to try and show the weight to best effect.

Since my posting I have attended an antiques fair and found a similar paperweight with an identical box and label.I now know that my paperweight is made by Royal Crest and the 'Parmir' name on the label is the paperweight's name. I hope this information may help others with identification.Thank you to everyone at this sight for their help.Katherine

Glad you identified your weight, but just to mention that Caithness Double Magnums were not always marked - I had one that I managed to identify from their collectors guides but they are not easy. It helped it came with a load of other Caithness weights (no other makers) so I kind of started looking there.

Made good money on ebay too, around the £90 mark (this was last year), so worth keeping an eye out for.

Is Royal Crest a British company? Is it a glass factory or glassmaking firm? Where is it located? I had always thought that Royal Crest was a name for a series of higher quality weights made in Taiwan and produced for export. And that Parmir was the name of the import or export company.

Some of my comments in that message are repeated here (for "China" read "Taiwan" if that is where they are actually at):

Quote

I received an enquiry about Royal Crest weights through the PCC website and the enquirer has now come back with some information after I suggested they may be importers.

Yes - it seems that in the UK, the import company Lesser & Pavey, based in Dartford, Kent is supplying these from China.

At least, the importer has dealt with various Chinese products for many years, after it became cheaper than sourcing from Europe (info from a Google search showing a 2003 news report for "art" goods)

The weights are also apparently stocked in some UK department stores (I don't know which ones though) under a brand called "The Leonardo Collection" - which links in nicely with the importer's address details.

Perhaps the "Royal Crest" certificates that are included in the box (but which give no details of source) are also produced in China on request? Or I suppose they may be inserted later by the importer.

Next questions to ponder - Are "Royal Crest" weights specific to this importer or are they simply regular Chinese production but "branded"? Can the same weights be found in various gift outlets at even cheaper prices than paid on eBay?